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Victor Wembanyama delivered 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks 115-111 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
This cut New York’s NBA Finals lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The win gave Wembanyama his first NBA Finals victory and kept San Antonio from falling into a 3-0 hole, a deficit no NBA team has ever come back from in a playoff series.
The Spurs will now have a chance to level the series in Game 4 on Wednesday night, while Game 5 is already set to be played in San Antonio on Saturday.
Wembanyama, whose late turnover hurt the Spurs in Game 2, came back with a controlled and decisive performance in New York. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and helped San Antonio hold off another late push from Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Wembanyama had many sources of motivation and added that the team was not surprised by his strong response.
Wembanyama also pointed to the pressure of playing at Madison Square Garden, saying: “At home, it really feels like playing six against five. Here, it feels like five against six.”
The result ended the Knicks’ 13-game winning streak, the second-longest postseason run in NBA history. New York had not lost since April 23, when it suffered a one-point defeat against the Atlanta Hawks.
Since then, the Knicks had beaten Atlanta, swept Philadelphia and Cleveland, and taken the first two games of the Finals in San Antonio. Their run had lifted expectations across New York, where “Knicks In Four” had become a common phrase among fans.
However, the Spurs spoiled the Knicks’ first home NBA Finals game since 1999 and stopped them from moving within one win of their first championship since 1973.
Stephon Castle added 23 points and hit a key 3-pointer with 1:53 left, putting the Spurs ahead 111-104. After OG Anunoby cut the gap to two with a late 3-pointer, Castle closed out the scoring with two free throws in the final seconds.
De’Aaron Fox also made important late shots as San Antonio pushed back against New York’s comeback attempt.
The Spurs started quickly, with Wembanyama dunking for their first two baskets. San Antonio made nine of its first 11 shots and led 33-22 after the first quarter.
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points for New York, while Anunoby added 28. The Knicks recovered from their slow start and took a 64-57 lead into halftime after Brunson’s long 3-pointer capped a strong second-quarter push.
Yet San Antonio moved back in front in the third quarter, and New York’s poor start to the fourth left it chasing the game. Karl-Anthony Towns was held to 11 points, while Mikal Bridges was limited by foul trouble.
Knicks coach Mike Brown pointed to San Antonio’s 24-8 advantage in second-half free throw attempts but said the series remained open, noting that it was a seven-game series for a reason.
A high-profile crowd that included U.S. President Donald Trump, Derek Jeter and Eli Manning watched as the Spurs kept their Finals hopes alive and forced the Knicks to work harder for a title that has eluded the franchise for more than five decades.
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